


The Story

by TheDoctor101



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:14:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29141334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctor101/pseuds/TheDoctor101
Summary: While remembering bed time stories with their moms, Finn is examined by Entrapta and a new threat emerges.
Kudos: 5





	The Story

**Author's Note:**

> Another new chapter in my Finn saga...
> 
> This is the fourth installment so read the Date, The Mentor and The Meeting before this in that order. We'll see how long I can keep the 'The ' theme going. I hope you're all enjoying. Please feel free to leave feedback, good or bad. Its all learning.
> 
> As I said last time, I'm relatively new to prose as my writing experience is comic scripting but I have written a novel that's with a few beta readers. Anything that can be done better I will try to do so. I think I got all pronoun preference right again but if one or more slip through, let me know and I'll promptly fix!

It was unusual for a child to look forward to bedtime but for Finn it was one of their favourite parts of the day. This was because of the stories that their mothers would tell them, taking turns with one doing one night the other the next and then so on. They each told very different stories that Finn adored in equal measure and had them clutching their blanket on each night for different nights. When it was Adora’s turn, she would tell her child tales of She-Ra, how awesome she was and the monsters she fought. Gripping his blanket with excitement Finn loved how especially his mother would act out stories of her own past using whatever she would find at hand. Many a night, Finn’s stuffed animals would act as foes and a stick would act as She-Ra’s sword that was currently residing hung on the wall above his mother’s bed. The stories Adora would tell that Finn liked the best were of the mean (but oddly alluring) foe she would fight. This captivating vixen (in his mothers words) was a delight to hear about and it took Finn many a year to figure out this particular villain was in fact their other mother. In contrast to Adora, Catra would tell Finn scary stories that had Finn gripping their bed sheet both in excitement and a little bit of fear but fun fear. It never got too intense and just as the monster would strike, Catra would tickler her child mercifully before ruffling up their hair and wishing them goodnight. The stories Catra were told were of a wicked shadow women who hurt people for her own means, a selfish red robed figure who loved no one and was built of lies. It was an interesting choice Finn thought that their mother would choose a monster like that because even at that young age, they knew their mother HATED the dark. More than once, Finn had noticed their mother eyeing up an odd shadow or would hear her tell Adora that she swear she saw a shadow move. It wasn’t often but when it happened, it seemed to hit Catra hard. One day when Catra and Finn was visiting ‘the Friend zone’, a name for their Aunt Scorpia’s Kingdom which they had always found a bit odd but never questioned and they were left alone waiting for their host and her wife, Perfuma to greet them. 

Finn had been looking forward to seeing one of their best friends, Blossom and was looking forward to that when they felt their mothers hand on their arm. ‘We need to hide, Catra said with an urgency that frightened Finn more than a little.’

When Scorpia returned to report that Perfuma and Blossom would be along shortly, she would Catra holding Finn tight with one arm and wielding a knife out with her free hand. They were in the corner of the room with Catra’s eyes darting around the room and Finn looking very scared and confused. ‘Whoa, whoa, what happened?’ Scorpia asked in complete shock at the scene she had come back to. 

When she spoke, Catra moved the knife to her direction, seemingly surprised by Scorpia’s appearance even though the former force captain would be the first to admit she was hardly hard to miss. After a few moments, Catra whispered ‘Scorpia?’ to which Scorpia smiled and held up both her claws and started approaching Catra and Finn slowly ‘Yeah, it’s me wildcat. What happened?’ Seemingly taking a few moments to answer as her mismatched eyes darted around the room once more before she hissed out a reply in the form of two words ‘She’s here.’ Now Scorpia was getting frightened and looked around to see no one in the room with the three of them. ‘Who is? What?’ Her question went unanswered by Catra who continued to be poised for an attack until Finn took it upon themselves ‘It’s the shadow lady from mommy’s stories.’ The young child answered ‘She doesn’t think I know but I know the shadow lady scares her.’ 

Rubbing their mother’s arm, Finn looked up and Catra and smiled, trying their best to look brave. ‘Don’t worry mommy, I’ll protect you.’ At that moment, with those words, Catra was brought back to reality. She dropped the knife and hugged her child as Perfuma and Blossom entered the room. It took Scorpia a few moments to convince them Catra would be fine even if she didn’t entirely believe it herself. When Catra went home with Finn, she told Adora what had happened. This story was not told with the excitement or daring of her bedtime stories but with shame and fear. ‘I understand if you don’t trust me to take the kid out on my own anymore...’ Adora hugged her wife and the couple collapsed in each others arms before Finn joined them. Watching from their corner of the room, Melog’s mane was deep blue. It was always there for Catra but thought some time alone with her child and her friends would do her good, after all it had been years since Catra had experienced something like this. It regretted its actions and vowed never to be anywhere but Catra’s side again.

With their eyes closed, Finn thought of these memories of times with their mom, ones that were even sad because that’s all that were left of them...memories. Even remembering Aunt Scorpio, Aunt Perfuma, Melog and Blossom caused their heart to ache. Opening their eyes, Finn was sat behind a nondescript desk in a fancy room that they were told was the castle’s ‘prison’. Before they had been allowed to say anything else to their mom’s, the other guard in the room has forced Double Trouble and them to raise their hands. Of course Finn started to protest as did Melog who seemed displeased about how the stranger who claimed to be from another time was being treated. The best friend squad were in no state to even register what was going on however, the series of events that had transpired had been an emotional roller coaster and none of them could find the words as Finn and Double Trouble were taken away. Double Trouble was in the room next door, familiar with the status of being a captive in Brightmoon castle and seemed mostly bored and inconvenienced by their situation. They lounged on a couch sighing and putting their hand to their head wistfully wondering ‘Oh why must I suffer for my art?’ Like most things Double Trouble did, this was all a performance to whomever may be watching them but there were only guards outside their rooms and magical barriers to prevent escape. At the moment all the attention Adora, Catra, Glimmer and Bow could afford was focused on Finn who they were watching though a magical portal the Queen had fashioned. 

This portal was almost like a window that they could see through that Finn couldn’t see back out of. ‘So...what do you guys make of this huh? Hell of a twist!’ Everyone looks at Bow uncertaintly as he awkwardly looks away from his friends and fiancé and back at Finn. ‘Our kid?’ Adora asks shaking her head ‘Could it really be?’ ‘He definitely looks like you both...’ Glimmer muses ‘although it could be another Double Trouble situation.’ ‘What’s the game though?’ Catra entered the conversation confusingly, unable to keep her eyes off Finn. ‘What do they both gain?’ When Catra stared at Finn something stirred within her she couldn’t quite describe and beside her Melog meowed with a mane covered in beautiful ruby red. ‘What’s Melog saying?’ Adora asks remembering Catra’s specural companion seemed to take a liking to their unexpected guest. ‘Melog says...Melog says that this kid smells like both of us...’ Catra explains as for a few moments, the group go back to their silent vigil. 

‘I’ve got it!’ Glimmer declares dramatically, taking the other three off guard as their expressions change to sudden surprise. ‘We just need to do a blood test right? That’ll tell us something! I know just what to do!’ Before Glimmer can elaborate, she vanishes in a cloud of pink sparkles. ‘Where is she going?’ Adora asks to which Bow and Catra shrug before the former of the two looks at Finn, then Adora and Catra and then back again. ‘If they’re telling the truth then you know...howwwwww?’ Both Catra and Adora look at Bow with blank expressions ‘How what?’ Adora asks to which Bow awkwardly rubs the back of his head ‘Well you know...I mean...you know!’ Neither seem to know what Bow is getting at and the archer and future king of Brightmoon suddenly has regrets he mentioned anything at all. A moment later, Glimmer returns but she’s not alone, Entrapta appears also looking very eager to be there as she holds a metal case close to her chest. ‘Oh thank you...’ Bow says to his fiancé gratefully but while Glimmer looks confused, Entrapta just looks eagerly towards Adora and Catra. ‘Hello friends! I regret not being able to make it tonight but I am so close to figuring out a way onto Horde Prime’s ship safetly I couldn’t tear myself away! However when I heard you needed blood taken, I couldn’t resist! I'm here to take your blood and frankly I thought you’d never ask!’ Both Catra and Adora exchange concerned glances as Finn waits in the ‘dungeon’ tapping their fingers against the table. ‘Hello?’ They call out, wondering what could be happening outside those very doors. ‘If it helps, I'm starting to get hungry! I have a taste for anything that grows naturally or can be served with a nice sauce.’ Hoping their casual (but true) statement will get someone’s attention, Finn leans on their hand and sighs when the door to the room opens and their heart stops at the sight before them.

The two red eyes in the darkness beyond the door cause Finn to freeze instantly, their tail standing up straight in alert. On the other side of Glimmer’s magical window, Melog gets closer to Catra letting out a small fearful meow before its mane turns an odd shade of yellow. The red eyes, that means that its already too late. Finn’s worst nightmare has followed him to the past and they are going to be defenceless as everyone they love and care about are taken away. Closing their eyes in a childest attempt to wish the red eyes away, Finn stops breathing without noticing. After a few moments, nothing happens and Finn hears something but their heart is pounding in their ears too fast to notice. Eventually Finn opens their eyes and sees someone directly in their line of vision which causes them to jump back and tip their chair over. ‘Ohhh sorrrrrryyyy,’ their visitor says ‘don’t worry! I'm just here to take your blood!’ Slowly, the panic inside Finn subsides as they see who is in the room with him, another very familiar face who sets her metal case on the table in the room and opens it up humming away to herself. ‘Oh don’t mind me.’ Entrapta says taking the equipment she needs for the blood test out. ‘Sorry if I alarmed you. I'm told that sometimes I'm not good at realizing people haven’t noticed my presence. Its one of many side projects I'm currently working on in my goal to be a better friend.’ Standing up, Finn stares at Entrapta, tears nearly coming to their eyes. ‘Aunt Entrapta?’ 

Looking up from her case and lifting her work face shield that had been the cause of the red eyes Finn had seen in the darkness the usual blue becoming red by a trick of the light, Entrapta looks at the young person before them curiously. ‘Aunt? I don’t think I'm quite qualified to be anyone’s Aunt I'm afraid. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever known any Aunt’s...perhaps I should study some in order to gain proper data before exploring this further. I am Entrapta though! Have we met? I don’t think so, I only know one cat person and trust me I’d remember if I’d met another. One is a curiosity but two makes things much more interestingggggg. Just think of all the comparison tests I can take HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I mean, sorry, do you have a name? Its nice to meet you, hold still while I take your blood before we continue with a few brief questions.’ The speech from Entrapta came out in rapid fire fashion, barely giving Finn time to process but they didn’t care. It was music to their ears, they’d missed this. Their Aunt Entrapta had been the first to...to...shaking their head Finn held out their arm and offered a smile back to the purple haired scientist before him. ‘I'm Finn.’ They replied ‘Take all you need but please leave some leftover, I prefer to keep my insides from getting too much on the outside, you know?’ Missing Finn’s attempt at humour, Entrapta resumes humming to herself and prepares to take the blood sample.

Outside Catra and Adora walk back and forth while Bow and Glimmer watch the scene play out between Entrapta and Finn. ‘You know...I’m getting tired just watching you guys.’ Bow can’t help but comment with a note of concern in his voice. Maybe you guys should...take a second to breathe while Entrapta helps us figure this out?’ Upon receiving a silent angry glare from both Catra and Adora, Bow raises his hands in mock surrender immediately. ‘Or you know...pacing is good too.’ The two young women promptly resume their pacing as Bow shuffles towards his fiancé who is concentrating on the spell allowing them to see into the room with Finn and Entrapta inside. ‘Hey,’ Bow whispers ‘what do you make of all this?’ Shrugging in response, Glimmer stares hard at Finn who is deep in conversation with Entrapta and she wishes her spell could cause them to hear as well as see. ‘I don’t know. It seems crazy but after all the stuff we’ve seen...who knows.’ Knowing that this logic makes a lot of sense, Bow turns his attention elsewhere and places a gentle hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. ‘Also...how are you after...you know...what Double Trouble did.’ A thin line forms in Glimmer’s mouth, it seemed that after Finn introduced themselves everything else had been momentarily forgotten and she’d just been reminded she should be very, very angry. ‘That’s a problem for later. We never should have given Double Trouble that pardon we offered all the other Horde soldiers...’ Thinking she won’t notice, Bow momentarily glances towards Catra who is too busy pacing along with Adora to really pay attention to what the couple are talking about. ‘I don’t mean her!’ Glimmer loudly whispers, noticing exactly where Bow was looking ‘I mean people them Trouble and Hordak...at least Catra is making amends.’ This was true, so far Catra had proved herself invaluable in the repair of several kingdoms, irreplaceable as a military strategist and seemingly spending the majority of her time making Adora as happy as possible. Meanwhile Double Trouble had just returned to their club and Hordak was doing who knows what under Entrapta’s main supervision. So far the reports from the people who had taken turns watching him were mostly consisting of Hordak hissing angrily at them and working on some sort of contraption with strict notes left by Entrapta detailing what he should and shouldn’t be doing. Perhaps everyone had been too willing to forgive in order to move on from the war as quickly as possible but now like Glimmer, Bow couldn’t help but wonder if more should have been done. The thoughts of the young archer are interrupted when the doors to the ‘dungeon’ open and Entrapta comes out and closes the doors behind her. Everyone stands around her immediately, looking at her as Entrapta hums and punches data into a tablet like device she didn’t have before. ‘Well?’ Adora eagerly asks to which Entrapta looks up and seems surprised the rest of the group is still there ‘Well what?’

‘Is the kid who they say they are?’ Catra gentures towards the door losing her patience as Adora puts a hand on her girlfriends shoulder to ground her. ‘Ohhhhh!’ Entrapta seems to remember what they were doing finally. ‘Oh Finn is a delight! You both should be very proud of the job you’ve done...will do. I found him very engaged, funny and most importantly fascinating to discuss several complex theories regarding temporal travel with. I mentioned they’d had a good tutor and it turns out it was me! The stuff I'm going to learrrrn.’ Opening her eyes in wonder at the thought of the knowledge she would one day posess, Entrapta again seems to become unfocused until Adora steps forward and with all her willpower asks the question that deep inside she thinks she already knows the answer to. ‘Entrapta please focus, we need to know. Is Finn telling the truth?’ Seeing how eager and worried Adora is, Entrapta feels momentarily guilty for being so focused on herself and the possibilities that Finn could mean and works hard to focus herself on the information her friends are desperate to hear. ‘Oh the story checks out for sure. The DNA matches perfectly as a mix of your and Catra’s with the latter of you both obviously being a little more dominant. I also found out Finn’s dietry preferences, favourite place on the planet and they wish to be referred to they and them. I mean they said they would answer to any pronoun which I must look into further but ideally to use they/them when possible.’ Smiling eagerly and hoping to hear she’s done a good job, Entrapta notices Adora and Catra look much the worse for this news. Frowning and looking to Bow and Glimmer, Entrapta finds they also look shaken by her news but nowhere to near the same degree as the other two. ‘Did I do something wrong?’ As Finn waits inside the room anxiously, they think over the conversation with Entrapta, willing themselves not to get upset. This would be hard, they knew this but now perhaps with Entrapta’s help it could be all worth it. The door opened once more causing Finn to sit up and they watched as their parents entered the room and closed the door behind them. Here goes nothing Finn thought, time to save them and the universe and for the first time, Finn was thankful that they seemed to have all the time in the world.

In the Crimson Waste, a lizard like creature ate a bug and let out an odd bark like noise. All is seemingly peaceful in the desert like barren wasteland until a massive red portal with a boom sound and a shockwave that causes nearby sand to blow several feet in the air opens. The lizard like creature watches in curiosity as out of the portal march a legion of grey robot soldiers. The robots all hold advanced looking weaponry and have dome like heads with the only interruption in their gray bodies being a red Horde logo on their chest. The first batch of the robots stop several feet in front of the portal and lay down a small cube and step back. The cube shakes and rattles and before the robots and the still open portal expands and moves, building an entire tower similar to the one Horde Prime covered Etheria with during his invasion. Once the high tower is finished its construction in a matter of moments another figure steps from the portal and it closes behind them. This new figure wears gray armour with a red cape that bears a Horde logo that also is on the chest of the armour. The massive armour is hulking in its scale standing over several feet higher than the robots. It surveys the land around it and holds its arm out and punches in a few commands which brings up a red display. ‘The past.’ A voice emanates from the armour sounding like a distorted static that would have a similar effect on anyone that could hear it as nails on a chalkboard. ‘Of course, it makes sense. Well little Finn, we’ll just to make sure that any changes are for the benefit of The Futurist.’ As the Futurist scans the new base before them it thinks about the victories to come and you could see their eyes you would see nothing but bitter cold and indifference but the eyes are hidden under the helmet of the armour. The only evidence of eyes in fact are half domes coloured deep blood red which reflect the light from the sun above in a both beautiful and terrifying way. 

To Be Continued


End file.
